For those who play both low whistle and flute, what situations lend themselves more to one instrument over the other?
I’ve just started playing flute. I don’t play in sessions, but I do occasionally perform on (mainly) low whistle with a fiddler and a guitarist.
I only played flute for a while (I realised fairly quickly I was going to have problems with the posture), but I’d say it’s much nimbler and has a greater range in both tone and volume than a low whistle.
Definitely flute for sessions – I’ve both played low whistle and sat close to someone playing it in a session, and I couldn’t hear either.
In some situations, though, low whistle is uniquely beautiful. If you have amplification or the group is small enough, you’d make the choice based on which sound you want rather than practical considerations.